Running From Time

Chapter 24

Joey

It had been over half an hour and Chris still hadn't returned. I was starting to grow worried about him and I knew that camping in the woods had not been a good idea. He had noticed earlier when I'd been looking at his body. That had been embarrassing. But he was very handsome and I was starting to like him a little in that way. He had Thalia though and he was straight. I had no chance.

A noise off to my left startled me suddenly and I jumped up in fear, squinting into the darkness. It had sounded like a hiss. My body tingled as I started to walk towards the trees, unsure of what was out there. Anything could be lurking in those woods. The trees were very closely packed and I could barely see the ground in front of me. The leaves above me completely blotted out the moonlight.

A growl suddenly reverberated through the patch of trees and I felt it through my spine, causing me to shudder all over. My legs trembled with fear but I forced them forward, trying to push the terror to the back of my mind.

"Chris?" I called out nervously, desperately hoping for a response. Nothing. Another growl penetrated the trees and I had the urge to run straight back to the clearing. This scenario was probably my worst nightmare. Twigs started to snap in front of me and I knew someone, or something, was there. I gulped and strained my eyes to try to see what it was. Five small figures started to approach me and I tried to make out what they were. Lions? No.

Tigers.

But what were tigers doing in the woods of England? I started to back away, faster and faster, but my foot got caught around a tree root. I tried my best to stay on my feet but I inevitably fell, hurting my ankle slightly. One of the tigers started to advance on me and I scrambled backwards, trying to escape.

"Chris!" I shouted out again, scared for my life. The tiger suddenly pounced on me and I screamed and closed my eyes. This was the end.

It never reached me.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes a crack to see the tiger wrestling with something bigger than itself. The tiger yelped as my saviour fought with it, eventually leaving it unconscious. My saviour stood up on its hind legs, crouching defensively, and I realised that it didn't resemble an animal at all. It looked more like a human. For a second, I thought that it might be Chris but a tail suddenly came into sight, proving that whatever it was wasn't human. It hissed and whacked one of the other tigers with its tail, sending it flying towards a tree. Then it crouched down further and jumped onto another tiger, fighting it. The rest of the tigers started to back away slowly in retreat. The strange creature suddenly turned to me and I saw that it had bright yellow eyes with slits down the middle. My own eyes widened in fear and I got up, running back towards the clearing. I hoped that Chris wouldn't get killed by the tigers or that creature.

Chris

My mind was spinning and adrenaline pumped through me. I could see perfectly in the dark and I guessed that I probably had night vision. Those tigers hadn't even been a challenge for me. I had worried that Joey would realise it was me, but he would've died if I hadn't been there. And I definitely couldn't let that happen. Once the tigers were gone, I felt my skin ripple slightly and the scales disappeared. My tail vanished and my senses dimmed, although they were still a little better than normal. I double checked that I was human again, however it was hard to see without the night vision that I had had only moments ago. Quickly, I ran back to the clearing and grabbed a few twigs on the way, remembering that I'd told Joey I had gone to collect some wood to make a fire.

He jumped up when I reached the clearing and hugged me unexpectedly, obviously petrified. I hugged him back tightly, scared as well but for a completely different reason. I was terrified of what I'd become.